Republic Oil and Gas founder Alexander Jones (who changed the company name to Roxxon Oil Company two years ago) evicted an entire slum to build this massive stadium when the age of the Robber Barons was at its height. Naming it after to the corporation was seen in very bad taste, but who would come to Hell's Kitchen Stadium?

[It is currently night-time and the Stadium is closed and well-guarded. There's been a lot of late-night activity and at least once there's a sound like a loud grinding of metal coming from the facility. Children are convinced it's a dragon roaring...]

From atop a nearby apartment building, Mary took in the scene in front of her. She knew of Republic Pavilion, a bizarre gentrification project that had created a little pocket of wealth in Hell's Kitchen, but had had little reason to come here. The whole thing had displaced a lot of good people for the purpose of exhibition. It didn't put Roxxon very high on her list of respected corporations, but even then she expected more from them than mass kidnapping.

The place seemed well guarded, which was odd since it also seemed to be closed, but she didn't expect it to be much of a problem. The structure clearly wasn't designed with defense in mind, and even spreading out this much manpower wasn't going to cover all of the cracks. So she plotted her approach to the loading docks, where she could see a number of vans, then started to make her way in... quietly.

 Since Peter left the bar and Siobhan’s company he kept himself busy preparing as best he could for tonight. After he made a quick stop by his apartment to grab a certain bag and an additional item he returned to the pavilion to scope out the area. It was easy enough to do while under the cover of night but he noted the number of guards would be a problem. Well a problem for Peter Parker and Siobhan Mohan but not for Spider-Man but it was not as if the latter could make an appearance.

Granted his new acquaintance had been very forthcoming with her experience with the supernatural but that did not mean he was going to be as honest. This partially due to not trusting her since he was still skeptical about her claims but also because he had not told anyone else his secret. As far as he was concerned he would take it to his grave, which he knew was hypocritical of him given his desire to bring the truth to the public. Oh well, this seemed to be par for the course for the Parker bloodline.

Of course he might not need to approach this as Peter if Siobhan did not arrive. He glanced around in an attempt to spot the actress and wondered if she would make an appearance tonight. Maybe she pulled the wool over his eyes and had actually managed to trick him back at the bar. If so then he would have to give an endorsement to everyone about her show since if she could trick him then she was a top notch thespian.

He pulled his coat tighter around him as he leaned against the nearby wall of the building the two of them agreed to meet outside of. Not too much longer and he would make a move on his own. Worst case scenario was she showed up after that and found him nowhere around. It would hurt his reputation a little but then again it was not as if he had the best as of late anyway. Even now he felt the urge to go in now especially after the terrifying roaring noise he heard erupt from somewhere inside the pavilion. It sounded alive but whatever could make such a noise was not of the norm at least not of anywhere in New York. If this dragon turned out to be real he would… Well obviously make some cash off its picture but also question just how far down this rabbit hole of weird ran. First it was spider gods then a living dead woman and now a dragon. What was next? A giant, walking, talking duck smoking a cigar?

A cold rain had come in from the ocean breeze, not quite ready to freeze.

The hairs raised on the back of Peter's neck. Not imminent danger, but something unusual.

There. On the wet pavement. the water's not rippling right from the raindrops. The water splashes silently...yes, silently in his direction like footsteps. Two sets of them in fact. They stop and Peter has the strong feeling of being watched. Then the footsteps move past him, and stop at one of the gates.

There was a running joke among the drunks about Harvey the Rabbit. Maybe this was the invisible duck?
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:54, Thu 24 Jan 2019.

Siobhan, without anything to do, had spent most of her day at the bar, drinking. Sadly, she sobered almost as quickly as she stopped, only a constant flow kept her feeling anything. She wondered how her body worked but may never know.

She was still in the same dress, the same light coat that was there to show she was wearing one more than to actually function to keep anyone warm. Most people didn't notice, she just liked to be in the cold. To feel something, even if it was almost a sting. No, not near a sting, but the potential for it.

As she walked up to Peter her umbrella spun in her fingers. Not the type to mind the rain, her dress cared a bit more. It was a silk blend and water, no matter how cold, didn't really get along with that fabric. Her jacket wasn't really waterproof, either. So, she had an umbrella and just let the fresh, wet, cold breeze permeate her body with her coat open in front.

<gray>"Hello. So, shall we see if any of this is real?"</gray.

Since the breaking of that damn statue Peter had developed what he considered an extra sense. It could have all been in his head but there were times when something in his brain seemed to warn him when things were not on the up and up. This was one of those times. The odd pair footsteps in the rain followed by the distinct feeling he was being watched. He kept his gaze locked ahead as if he was unaware of being spied on. Better for whoever was watching him to think he was just some schmuck out in the rain than someone who could tell when someone was creeping around him. Thankfully the pair continued on their way but strangely to one of the gates. Certainly interesting and enough to make him want to investigate but he stopped in his tracks before he could even take more than a step.

Siobhan arrived and he turned to look at her, eyebrow raised. It was one thing for someone to be out in the rain bundled up for it like he was but the actress was still in the same attire as before. The fact she looked drenched with an open coat despite having an umbrella made for a striking sight due to the fact she did not seem to mind the cold in the slightest. It certainly gave credit she was not like the average person or she was somehow a good enough actress to put on such a façade.

“Let’s but we might want to consider the best way to get in. Guards are roaming all over the place and it looks like they’re not letting anyone in.” He glanced around and stepped closer so he could speak in a faint whisper. “Also, there are people out here lurking about, they just went towards one of the gates. Maybe we should go that way, if they get in we could just follow. Unless you have an idea to get us inside.”

"Well,"<gray> she considered. There were quite a few options there. She also didn't see anyone else, not that she could always see so well in the dark.

<gray>"If people are going to go in maybe we should follow. Let them distract anyone as we go. Unless you have a better way in. Breaking into anywhere is well outside of my bailiwick." She tied her coat, ready to attempt to go in.

She headed the way, looking around for any guards. She would hate to kill anyone on accident just because they were doing their job. But, she still had little control if there was violence being perpetrated against her. "If this is a hoax it's at least an elaborate one."

As Peter and Siobhan debate a limousine pulls up to the gate. The driver rolls down the window to converse with the driver.

[Roberto, Kraven invited you to a VIP Party at the Stadium so you're in the back seat, OK?]

Daredevil leaps from the rooftops to the loading area of the Pavillion. There's some menial labor in butchers aprons hauling several cow carcasses inside. Probably enough to beef to feed a hamburger to every hungry kid in Hell's Kitchen.

At a separate entrance there's uniformed kitchen and waitstaff hauling fancier fare. A man in a chef's hat chastises them in French as he stops a dolly with a crate of wine, takes out a bottle, and spits on the label.

Something about how with Prohibition no American knows the difference between a merlot and a cabernet suavignon anymore.

Roberto agreed with his drivers observation that he might very well need a stand in for the Roxxon company was American, and As such typically looked down on people of his color. So, as he surmised that prospect as his driver started driving him into the lot. He actually quite liked Kraven. He figured he had shady dealings no one In the inner circle didn't not even him, but he was 0robably one of the more heroic types in the inner circle willing to do what was right given the chance.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:01, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

Peter weighed their options, each had their own risk and he was uncertain about a few factors. If they were caught something told him the authorities would not be involved just because that made sense and so far this Kraven guy had not do anything that could be considered normal human thinking. “When people like him have too much money what’s the point of a ruse unless it’s elaborate?” He was about to suggest they try their luck following whoever was watching him earlier but paused when a limousine pulled up to the gate.

“Looks like Kraven is letting people in but only ones on the guest list.” The heavy security made more sense now than just needing to guard an attraction. The type of vehicle was enough for him to assume only people with wealth, reputation and the like were invited which he could put an interesting spin on when he wrote his story. “If you wanted to give it a shot you could try to talk your way in like you belong in there. Then I can work on sneaking inside on my own, one person is less likely to be caught than two. If not we’ll try out luck following the other trespassers.”

You have a drink in the limo on the way there. Give the rest of the heroes a chance to follow you in!

A man in a suit approaches the two as they debate.

"Hey! I know you!"

He comes up to Siobhan.

"I saw you in a couple of those new musicals last year! Pirates of Mikado or something?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:04, Tue 29 Jan 2019.

Siobhan was about to reply to Peter when someone else came up. She gave a shiver, "Thank you, and I think I will do that."

Her full attention shifted to the man in the suit. "Yes, Pirates of Penzance was last year. I am now headlining at the Fenrir most weekends. But," another, bigger shiver, "my apologies. It has been a night. I was supposed to come to this but I lost my invitation. Actually, my purse and my overcoat were stolen while I was having dinner. Now I'm wet and cold and might miss it." Now she was being the actress, as though she were a completely different person. Not the one who was into philosophy, not the one who was a dead girl seeking revenge while trying to find her place in the world. No, she was an actress, a singer, a pretty young woman with a well known face and a sad story. And, usually, men were easy.

Peter caught on what Siobhan was doing the moment she turned away from him to speak to the newcomer. He gave a curt nod then slipped away so she could continue her act without him hampering her. He went around the corner then ducked into a nearby alleyway then made sure there were no prying eyes or anything else trying to watch him. Quickly he pulled a pair items from his bag, a mask and a pair of aviator goggles. He took his hat off and stowed it away before he donned the mask. The goggles were next and once they were secure he took off his jacket. Earlier he changed into his garb he usually wore when he moved around the city as the Spider-Man which was easy enough to conceal with his trench coat.

He then pulled his pistol and holster from the bag and strapped them to his waist. All that was left was to bundle up his jacket and shove it down into the same bag then he could see about putting it up somewhere safe. Quickly he scaled the wall and secured the bad to a spot where only someone like him could obtain it. It was held in place by the webbing that shot from his wrist. Satisfied with this he climbed up the wall up to the roof of the building then quickly jumped to the next rooftop. He would have to trust Siobhan would get in on her own while he followed the people he sensed earlier. Peter Parker was not going to get his foot through the door but a masked vigilante sneaking in would likely have better luck.

His jaw drops. "Oh you poor dear! This shinding got thrown together at the last minute and I didn't even see you on the list, and half of those girls were already booked!"

He rests his hand on the small of her back and starts guiding her around to a back entrance.

"Geez! You feel cold as a dead fish! I hope you don't catch somethin'! Here's what you do. Grab a cup of coffee on the way through the kitchen to warm up and put one of those Tarzan costumes on in the changing room. Once you're all prettied up grab a tray and start mingling. I know how the actress racket goes, so what you and a customer want to do in the last hour is between you and him. We'll have a line of cabs out here for you ladies before dawn, if that's how you wanna get home. Break a leg, toots!"

He gives her a playful slap on the behind as he shuts the door behind her.

MEN...they never change!
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:13, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

Siobhan let the man do the talking. It was easier. And it seemed he really didn't understand that she wasn't in the chorus or struggling at all anymore. Playing the damsel and the worker was not a bad idea. Although, she had no intention of actually being a server tonight. She went about looking for the changing area. She needed something a bit drier than she was wearing. She also grabbed the coffee, drinking a few hot cups to warm up her body just a little. There would be a lot of servers and maybe someone had a nice enough dress. If not, maybe she could make due with something else.

Mary takes in the bustle of activity, but she doesn't think the kidnappers came this way. There are too many people that would need to be silenced if they saw something like that. Still, she took a moment to listen for sounds of struggling or resistance. Assuming she heard nothing at the docks she would circle the area until she did.

At a distance, hears a man usher a young woman into the kitchen area.

Strange...did that woman have no heartbeat?

And who's that climbing up effortlessly up the wall to the roof, covered from head to toe like you, with the holstered sidearm and aviator goggles?

Tyrone rises from a shadow on a rooftop, Tandy with her glowing dagger moving along with him. He looks about, the darkness of the street no impediment to his vision. He spots Mary, as he knows who to look for. Even her stealth skills can't hide from someone who can see in the dark.

"I see her! There!" He said to Tandy. He paused, and then looked back at his partner. "Are you sure she needs our help? From what I can tell she can take care of herself. I mean, she beat the hell outta that guy so easy it was like she was cleaning dirt from her shoe!"
This message was last updated by the player at 20:23, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

In reply to Tyrone Johnson (msg # 20):

"That's not the point! We should be ready in case she needs our help! After all, what if she gets hurt or something?" Tandy explained with a bit of exasperation.

She dimmed the light from her magic dagger, just in case there where unfriendly eyes that may spot her and Tyrone on the rooftop. "Besides, we have to get the kid to someplace safe! And if there is one being nabbed, there are more! We can get them all to safety in seconds!" She grinned at him. While Tyrone would use his shadows to get them out, it was her link to the weapon that would allow them all to move safely through his shadows.

Well, wasn't this becoming quite the party?

Mary didn't recognize the woman without a heartbeat or the man climbing walls like gravity was only a suggestion, but she knew she wasn't the only vigilante that prowled New York at night. Then, of course, Tandy and Tyrone had caught up. They hadn't spent a lot of time together, but the more they did the more she would be able to pick out their voices.

And it all meant one thing: this whole situation was about to become a s***-show. Money, booze, corruption, kidnapping, vigilantes... And if she was being honest, the thought excited her. Something big was about to go down and she might be in a position to do a lot of good, something she couldn't have done before putting on the mask.

So far Mary hadn't heard anything to indicate that their charge was in immediate danger, so it was time to start eliminating variables. And the first one would be the stranger climbing walls. If he was friend, they needed to coordinate. If he was foe, he needed to be removed before he created problems.

So the Devil of Hell's Kitchen returned to the rooftops surrounding the stadium, finding a flat open area where she could wait for her quarry to come to her. She hoped her instincts were correct. If he meant her harm, standing out in the open like she was about to do would put her at a serious disadvantage.

Peter chose to only traverse from rooftop to rooftop on foot. It would draw less attention than him relying on his webs and he did not want to give away the Spider-Man was lurking about. Thanks to the Bugle he had built up a certain reputation and while he did not care so much about those inside the stadium knowing because they would but anyone outside who saw him could call the authorities. Adding cops to the mix would only make this more of a headache and it was almost a splitting one at this moment.

He moved easily enough, his powers making it easy enough for him to do though skidded to a stop when he saw something peculiar or rather someone. There was a woman dressed in garb that concealed her identity as easily as his own did for him, which could possibly mean she was not supposed to be here. On the other hand she could have been hired to guard the place much like Osborn had hired similar types as enforcers, but if that was the case she was doing a shoddy job by standing out in the open. Perhaps it was intentional since she was standing out there like she was expecting someone to make an appearance, and his gut told him that he was the person she was waiting on.

This deduction led him to realizing it was wiser not to attack and see what this lady wanted. That and there was also the fact she could have been one of the pairs of footsteps he heard earlier. If so then she had at least one partner with her who was watching her. No matter who they were he felt confident he could handle this even if it was an ambush. All of this nonsense because for a damn photo of a make believe creature. Jameson was going to pay more than usual for how annoying this job had become.

The masked man proceeded until he jumped and landed on the rooftop the stranger also stood on. He stared at her through the googles, taking in any clues as to who this woman could be. Definitely masked but was she one of those who had rumors about her or was she new to this? Some of the vigilantes had eyewitness reports but no photographs ever captured their forms. If he could have he would have taken a picture but at the very least he could write this up in his story later.

He decided to be the one to break the silence even if he did not know exactly how to go about this. “Fancy meeting you here, who are you exactly?”
This message was last edited by the player at 16:32, Thu 31 Jan 2019.

"I'm the..." but Mary abruptly trailed off. "I need a shorter name. Call me Daredevil."

Smooth...

"There was a kidnapping in town, about 20 minutes ago. I've followed the trail to this location. I'm was about to breach the stadium and continue my search when I noticed your arrival. I don't know who you are or what you are trying to accomplish, but I figured the polite move was to see whose side you are on before deciding what I should do about you."

“Daredevil? Okay then, Spider-Man” Peter replied  while he pointed at himself when he gave his vigilante name. Strangely enough he was more curious than anything by the name the lady gave him. If this really was the so called Devil and her reputation preceded her then he might be in danger. Even so he did not seem the least bit perturbed even when she claimed she was still unsure about what she was going to do with him.

“I can tell you I’m not working for the people inside,” he said and gestured towards the stadium. ”I also have no intention of getting in your way to save someone, and I’m going to take you at your word that’s what you’re here to do.” For all he knew she was lying through her teeth but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. “How about we go inside then if need be we go our separate ways from? If not I guess we can stay out here in the rain and let the kidnappers do whatever is they’re doing to their victim.”

An old Buick rides across the street towards Hell's Kitchen. It was black, the night too dark for the driver to be recognized but seemed to have two men in the front of the car. It hummed as though the only sound in the night, however, this dissipated the closer and closer it was to the stadium. A slight trail came from the back of it, dripping though hardly heard before it got close to the stadium.

It rode towards the closed entrance of the stadium, striding along the ground with the two men in the driver seats becoming more clear over time. It wasn't going fast, but not slow either, as it was oddly straight. The car's trunk was open but only detectable from the side or behind. It looked normal from the front or upon glance as it grew closer to the entrance of Hell's Kitchen.

A few men from the very top of the stadium who were either spotters, snipers, whatever they may be, were picked off. Red covered the area below them, both on and over whatever railing there was. No shots were heard, if any had been fired, there was no trace of what angle they had come from. To an experienced eye, this was highly suspicious and could probably be narrowed down to a deliberate attack.

In reply to Peter Parker (msg # 25):

Both Parker's and Murdock's inhuman senses activate as Tryone rises from a shadow behind Daredevil. Parker detects obvious danger from the living shadow, and the girl with the dagger of light and glowing eye tattoo that steps out of the dark cloak.

Murdock senses Tyrone as he sounds and smells like no one else on earth. Instead of a heart beat and blood flow his inner body functions sounds just like air being sucked into a tunnel only her senses could detect. Even his scent barely registers as a solid being, and her radar sense reveals only a semi solid creature. More floating cloth than flesh and blood.

"What, do you two shop at the same store?" Tyrone says, seeing now that the Spider Man was not threatening Murdock.

In reply to Tyrone Johnson (msg # 27):

Tandy made an annoyed face ar her partner. "Tyrone! Be nice!" She shook her head and smiled and waved at Parker. "I'm Tandy! This is Tyrone! Do you two go to the same...ummm...parties or soemthing?" She glances at Murdock and then back at Parker.

In the changing room Siobhan knew she'd find something in her size that was dry. It was a fair trade, a dress for the evening for one that was likely far nicer. However, that also meant it needed a bit of work. Pinning it here and there, what was once a boring cut was temporarily some nice ruching, a hand done touch. A mirror allowed her to put her hair up, a few tasteful curls falling around her face. Thankfully she was wearing some jewelry when she came out.

Looking around as she opened the door, Siobhan worked to make her way to an exit from the back and out into the event proper.

The Buick seems to keep going even at the entrance of Hell's Kitchen. The guards looking over seemed to of course try and stop it, not exactly thinking it was anything more than a sleeping driver. Upon futher inspection, the two men who were in the front of the car had signs on them, red going down their heads. The signs read, 'Give me. The hostages.' As the drivers were both slumped over, dead.

The guards noted this a bit too late, the car having a trail of wire behind it which tugged upon the trunk. It had run out of room to go, and instead of the wire snapping, a clump of dynamite pulls out. There was a gas trail also leaking, covering the dynamite and pouring in a follow. At the end of the street, a light from a cigar is lit, giving a bright orange into the night. It drops onto the gas trail, the wire somewhere along the trail. The fire spreads towards the car at a rapid pace. The trunk of the vehicle was filled almost to the brim with TNT.

Before anybody knew it, an explosion erupts at the entrance of Hell's Kitchen, big, bright, and a satisfying sight to behold. Upon that street a man in a trench coat and holding a Winchester rifle walks towards the stadium. His rifle was aimed, and proceeded to fire at the confused batch of guards. Car shrapnel and fire had erupted over the entrance, causing the scene to be total chaos.

Mary turns around to look at the pair before nodding her head back in the direction of Peter.

"Spider-Man." she said simply. "I don't know if we go to the same boutique. We just met and I have yet to ask him to take me shopping. And it would seem that if he isn't on our side, he's at least not against us."

She turned back then. "And he's got a point. We're on a clock. You are welcome to join us Spider-man, we just need to..."

And then the night lit up a fraction of a second before a wall of sound and force washed over them. In the wake of the explosion Mary dropped to her knees. Her enhanced senses were all well and good until someone blew up a literal ton of TNT in front of her.

With her ears ringing she was defenseless.

Roberto Da Costa finished his ride up to the main doors got out, and had his driver park elsewhere. This was perfectly normal, and his driver would sit in the car while it was running due to him liking the car to be rather toasty, since he preferrwe warmer temperatures. As he got in with his invitation completely fine, and as Roberto Da Costa was walking through the entrance into the more populated party center. The most Raucous thing happened an explosion. That wasn't something you'd expect especially, and it startled and dsazzled him. Not knowing about the Punisher, or the crimes commited by those attending/hosting the party he was surprised this happened at all, and As such he went off to investigate the source if the explosion.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:05, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

In reply to Mary Murdock (msg # 31):

Tandy at once runs over to Mary, kneeling by her and touching her shoulders. "Are you alright!? What happened!?" She was confused as to why Mary would be the only one in such pain. Then she quickly realized given Mary was holding the sides of her head.

"Tyrone, go see what happened! I'm going to try and heal her!" She draws the hidden dagger from her sleeve, and the entire weapon and the circular mark around her right eye glows pure white.

She lightly touches the now energy blade to Mary's head, and instead of burning or damage, Mary feels her system purified of any and all outside damage or impurities that happen to be plaguing her.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:22, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

In reply to Tandy Bowen (msg # 33):

Tyrone nodded, looked over the edge of the roof for signs of the blast or smoke. Upon seeing it, as darkness was no obstruction for him, he sinks into the rooftop like the shadow he resembled and vanishes.

When he reappears, he rises from the floor like shadow made solid. He can only transport to where he can see, so he can only be as close to the blast as he could have spotted from the rooftop.

Mary would have likely noticed the slight turn of Peter’s head a second before the arrival of Tandy and Tyrone. That sixth sense of his went off and just like always it proved to be right on the mark for it to somehow detect two people who had essentially popped up from out of nowhere. It was also the reason he did not look surprised then again it was difficult to tell any emotions from him since his face was hidden behind a mask. “So these are your partners,” he said to Mary as if he somehow knew they were around, which he assumed was the other footsteps he heard earlier.

He gave a shake of his head and held up a hand when the young lady introduced herself along with her friend. “Look Sunshine, never give your name in a circumstance like this. If you’re going to be running around with people who wear a mask the least you can do is come up with a name though I’m sure Miss Devil here can take you a decent enough shop if you want a mask for yourself.”

With that said he stayed quiet and listened to Mary speak though he could not give a response because his Sense went off again. “What?” His head snapped in the direction of where the explosion would happen a few heartbeats later. The blast was large enough for him to feel the vibrations in his bones but that was it. Somehow the Daredevil suffered some sort of injury from the attack but what it was he could not say. He was a journalist not a doctor after all.

There was no time to question any of this especially when someone was attacking the arena and there were people inside. The only one he was actually concerned about was Siobhan since he was partially responsible for her being in the building. “I’m going on inside, best chance to get in while the guards deal with whoever thought it was a good idea to kick the hornet’s nest.” He ran to the edge of the building and jumped to the next rooftop, his destination quite clear as he was determined to get inside during this chaos.

The man entered the chaos, the shots stopping with him disappearing into the stadium. The Winchester was slide under the wreck of the car. He seemed to be out of sight, changing his attire to one of the security guard's who was running around the side to respond to the event. He was simply given a punch to the jaw and went out.

Frank was now disguised as a security guard, leaving his gear in a vent near the entrance but far enough in it'd be undetectable unless someone looked for it. Frank now disappeared into the stadium, disguised.

From a safe distance on the roof of a nearby building, the Watcher, with binoculars to his eyes, monitors the blossom of flames the explosion, then focuses on the man sneaking into the building.

"I should have expected this..."

Tyrone vanished once more, this time able to see the chaos and havoc up close. The security people seem to be running around, looking for whoever or whatever caused the blast. The weird-looking black kid in the funny hood and cape made a handy scapegoat...as all black kids did in this country.

"Hey! Yeah, you punk! Hold it!" Three of the bigger tough guys said, pointing handguns at Tyrone's chest.

"Where is the kid?" Tyrone said, glowering at the three men.

"That don't sound so respectful to me! I'm the one with the gun!" The man growled. "You should know yer place, you sawed-off clown!" He proceeded to put a bullet into where he thought Tyrone's legs should be...as he could not see into the darkness of the cloak.

Nothing happened. No blood, no reaction of pain, not even a flinch from Tyrone. The man seemed confused, and fired again-this time joined by the other two who now looked scared.

The bullets hit what would have been center mass, into Tyrone's chest. Expect again, the bullets went into the darkness and did not come out Tyrone's cape covered back. His angry expression never even changed. Finally, his eyes narrowed, the shadows of his hood covering his face so much only two slightly glowing spots could be seen. Then he vanished.

The three men looked at each other briefly, as if they just dreamed the whole thing. Then out of no where, Tyrone was right next to them. The cloak seemed to grow and reach out like some sort of living shroud, covering all three in darkness. They scream as one, and then are silenced.

"I should leave you in there..." He growled, tempted. However, he knew that would not get him any answers. He needed them, and maybe more importantly, he was not 'hungry' as of now. Tandy's blade provided for whatever it was that kept him fed, but he could feel the darkness hungering for living things. He focused, and his face twisted up.

All three men where thrown out of the cape-as if they where falling from someplace higher up. They land in a heap, shivering and teeth chattering. The guns lost into the darkness of the cloak itself, and three men now in fetal potions had barley any ability to even pull a trigger. As if the cold was not enough, each man had just endured his worst nightmare, which Tyrone now knew in detail.

"So, I am gonna ask one last time." He growled at the chilled and terrorized men at his feet. "WHERE IS THE KID!?"

Two guards had the same nightmare. Slavering jaws of something bipedial and not yet human. The other guard who shouted orders had a nightmare that was even worse, a huge hypodermic needle dripping with poison pushing through the sternum.

"THEY'RE IN THE BOMB SHELTER UNDER THE STADIUM!" They scream in unison as they shiver and fall over each other, trying to regain the strength and coordination to escape.

Inside the banquet hall, Roberto doesn't even have time to sample the hors d'ouvres when the waitstaff apologetically rush everyone down the stairs, explaining that there's "police activity" and they need to be inconvenienced only momentarily for their safety.

Siobhan bumps into a guard as well.

"This way, lady! This way!"

Once again her intelligence is underestimated as they're lead down deeper tunnels.

"Not even a martini?" whines a man rushing in the line.

Kraven, leading the head of the line, groans in annoyance.

"You've had three already, Doctor Strange!"

In reply to The Narrator (msg # 39):

"They better be alive...or I am coming for all of you! And then I feed you to the Darkness!" He snarled.

He wanted to do it now. He had seen their fears, but he had gotten a feel for their crimes as well. It filled him with anger that people like this moved unfettered through the world, while he and his suffered in constant fear.

He headed for the basement, sinking into the floor and becoming a shadow once more until there is nothing but seemingly normal shadows left. However, he plans to pick up Tandy first...
This message was last edited by the player at 17:11, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

It was good when things worked out. She even managed to look slightly worried when there was some sort of loud sound. If they heard it in here, though, it must have been something very loud. Not gunfire, something more. Maybe there was an accident. But the rushing into safety, and she'd only gotten herself a single martini before losing a bit of it on the guard.

Going down, she looked around and asked, "um...what's going on?" She added a tinge of fear in her voice. Siobhan might learn something even if she doesn't get to see the dragon tonight. And, there were some powerful people here, some important and some odd. But she may meet some people.

Roberto follows the Guards directions not wanting to argue with them. He knew if he argued it would cause a scene, and that wasn't something he wanted to do, so he chose the other approach instead. Besides, it was probably a distraction. Which meant that there's probably someone who doesn't belong here, but he had no idea who, or how many. So, he needed to talk to them, and keep an eye on the others. So, he decided to ask a random person
  That was quite loud. what do you think it was?

The man was making his way down to the bomb shelter where the people were being held. He had a small revolver, being dressed like a security guard meant people thought he should have a firearm, especially in this situation. Even if they didn't, a random civilian wouldn't know police regulations.

He had the revolver in his right hand, though his finger off the trigger and it pointed down. It was in a manor where nobody would give him a second glance, the chaos made sure of that. He pushed through the crowd, not making eye contact and keeping to himself. Only to the trained eye, did he look suspicious.

Siobhan replied to the question, it seemed few were going to talk more than grumble and someone was actually asking. "i...it sounded like a gas main explosion. I wasn't far from the one a few months ago and it was intense." Although, that would have been a coincidence. So, as she was formulating what may be happening an intentional explosion definitely popped to mind. It would be a great way to sneak in here which meant there may be a killer here.

Really? It's seems unlikely it would be accidental. Do you think it could be something about Kraven, and the Dragon? Roberto attempts to put his arm on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. Since, it was likely she wasnt unnerved. He ponders. At a party such as this Kraven was here, and he would be the one who would own the dragon. Someone might have set it up to get it. The body of a dragon would be invaluable.

Tyrone rose from the rooftop where he had left Tandy.

"I know where the kids are! We gotta go! Fast!" He looked concerned, and he looked from Tandy to her patient. He knew Tandy wanted to help Murdock, but he also knew he could not safely remove the children from their prison without Tandy and her dagger's light.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:39, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

In reply to Tyrone Johnson (msg # 47):

Tandy laid Murdock down on the rooftop, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Her dagger should have healed her, but she was not sure the damage that was done to the woman. She suspected it was her ears, but could not really know.

Upon touching Mary with the dagger-even for healing rather than harming-Tandy most likely would learn her hopes. She laid the blind woman down, and whispered. "You will be ok. We...I have to go." She said, and nodded as she stepped into Tyrone's shadows-both of them vanishing.

Tyrone would do several transports until he gets to the bunker in question...

The young woman felt a bit chilled even under the fabric of her dress. At least the coffee had brought her temperature up a little so she didn't feel the same as the ambient air. "I guess it is possible, I mean, it's like the plot of a movie. Using something like that as a distraction to...to get in here?" Siobhan looked around, she may be here under false pretenses but that didn't mean she was here to hurt anyone. But, an explosion, if not an accident, this was the likely target for someone to attack. Hell, there were some people in here that she probably wouldn't mind seeing dead.

Just as Tandy helps Mary to her feet, Peter's senses alert him to danger from above!

With a blinding searchlight from above and the roar of propellers, the unmistakable rattle of machine gun fire strafes down the roof of the building.

A cackling rises above the jetpack engine and gunfire.

"Say cheese, Spider-Man! All of you get closer for a family shot! HAHAHAHA!"

https://cdn.flickeringmyth.com...coming-6-600x303.jpg

Roberto tries to think if he wanted somebody dead, he'd want to have something like a gun, or a weapon in general. You wouldn't want to try to kill someone with your own bare hands too many witnesses which could stop you, and as he looked around the only people he noticed with a gun were Guards. Yeah, its likely that they'd bring a gun. They don't care about collateral damage to take care of their goals. and with that put in place. He sees the one man with a gun already drawn, and it was pointing to the floor. He knew he had to stop him, so he said. Sorry, I have to go. Running after the man. Who he suspected was going to kill Kraven.

Siobhan was about to respond when the man reacted. His reasoning, though, not caring about collateral. That was something that affected her deeply, something programmed in her. So, she took what would have been a heartbeat for someone else, and brought herself back to focus. If she got too upset there could be a lot of collateral damage from her.

Soon, though, she was following Roberto, maybe she could help, maybe she could stop someone else from being killed. The sensation of death clung to the room. Could they stop it?

For the fourth time this evening that ever aware Spider Sense went off and warned Peter though this time the danger came from above. The whirling metal of propellers roared over the sound of the crackling fire from down below before. He knew who this was and moved just as the staccato of machinegun fire drowned out all other noise. He knew Daredevil was still recovering from whatever affected her from the explosion so he did not know if she could move well enough. Well, he could not take the chance because as much as he was concerned with getting into the stadium he could not leave anyone to die on the roof to that airborne psychopath.

With a flick of his wrist a line of black webbing shot out and latched onto Daredevil then with a pull he got her out of the line of fire. Now that she was out of danger well for the second at least he turned to look at his foe. “How about instead we get you another mugshot? Promise I won’t knock out more teeth this time.” Though his eyes stayed locked on the flying gunman he addressed the others. “Go help the kids, I can handle this.”

[I'm splitting off the RP for a thread beneath the pavillion]

Tyrone stepped in front of Tandy, and the Vulture's full auto burst sinks into his darkness with seemingly no effect. He glares up at the flying man, and seems ready to do something about the threat.

In reply to Tyrone Johnson (msg # 55):

Tandy touches Ty's cloaked shoulder. Assuming he had shoulders still.

"We can't stay! Just like you said-we need to get to the kids! We have to trust the Spider to take care of this!" She seemed reluctant to leave behind Daredevil, but as everyone keeps saying-the kids come first.

Tyrone glares up at his foe, but nods. With a mix of shadow and light, both teens are gone.

(OOC-Heading for under the stadium.)

This message was deleted by the player at 22:41, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

It took all of Mary's self control to not lash out when she felt the hands at her shoulders. She hadn't been this helpless in a long time, and her instincts screamed at her to strike anyone that would dare touch her. But she had gone down surrounded by allies, and she had to trust that it was one of them and not some threat she needed to protect herself from.

Then came the blessed burning, like the touch of the Grace she had named her new life after.

In a moment her tinnitus was cleared away, but that would not be the only injury the young Tandy would heal. For the first time in 15 years, Mary could see.

For several seconds she couldn't make sense of the information her body was giving her. The information was... jumbled... dampened... blocked! With a swift motion she tore the mask from her face, and the night came alive. She wasn't just seeing as she had, she was seeing as if her eyes had become as sensitive as her other senses. The lingering fire from the TNT cast the area in a light like the Sun. She could see the scratches in the googles worn by Spider-Man and the individual blades of the propulsion device used by the Vulture. She could see the strange shadows that wrapped around Tyrone that her other senses had had such trouble making sense of, and she saw the conflict in the eyes of Tandy a moment before they were gone.

As Mary brought the information overload under control her situational awareness kicked back in. Tyrone and Tandy were gone, and she couldn't follow them. The stadium seemed under attack, but even that wasn't the most pressing matter. No, some flying maniac with a bird fetish was trying to ventilate her. Luckily, she wasn't out in the open where she had fallen. She'd have to thank Spider-man for that later. But before she could do that she had to take care of the immediate threat.

With a twist she split her cane into two pieces. Then she slipped out of her cover and launched one of the pieces like a javelin at the wing of the flying menace. She still held the other half in her left hand, and the narrow cable that connected the two would soon snap taunt. If he didn't move to avoid her attack the launched piece would wrap tightly around one of his wings and Mary could haul the bastard to the ground where a proper beating could be conducted.

Toomes May have expected a shot of webbing aimed at his propeller, he’s sprayed a special compound on the blades for just such an event. But only he hadn’t prepared for a woman throwing half of a guiding cane at him. The wood splintered and the rig wobbled. His bullets veered way off course as he began to spiral out of control. He shouted a string of curses drowned out by the grinding sounds as he desperately pulled at a latch to clear out the splinters.

To complicate things further, the ground beneath the Pavillion trembles. Were Mary and Peter not known for their sense of balance they would have been thrown off the roof after Frank Castle blew up that underground vault lock.

Peter watched the scene unfold before him. First Daredevil ripped off her own mask thus revealing her face to anyone close by to see. He was one of those people and why she decided to do this was beyond his reasoning this new development would have to wait until later. First he had to make sure the flying gunman did not kill either of them or anyone else then he could decide to do with this new information. That is if matters don’t become more complicated he thought only to feel the erratic vibrations of another explosion going off though this time it seemed come from below the stadium. Highly unlikely at this point.

Toomes was occupied thanks to the cane turned missile which gave him ample opportunity to jump off the building and fire a line of webbing.  When dealing with someone like this mook he needed to stay out eyesight. That was why he went swung around then traveled up because the last place Toomes would think to look was above him. After all Daredevil was taking all of the man’s focus so he might as well capitalize on this opportunity.

The Spider-Man launched himself through the air, the cold wind whipped at his form but the rage he felt building up inside was doing more than an adequate job to stave it off. With a thud he landed on the Vulture’s back, one arm wrapped around his prey’s neck enough to cut off his air while the opposite hand gripped tightly on the wing that had not been touched yet. "Let's clip these wings of yours," he said grimly then began to punch rapidly at the spot on the wing that allowed it to move thus hopefully limiting the rig's mobility. Though if he was able to destroy it completely then that was fine with as well.

So, maybe getting her eyesight back wasn't the best thing to happen to Mary. Her throw had been off target, ending up in the rotary blade rather than wrapped around the wing. Still, it had driven the flyer off balance; enough for Spider-man to land on his back.

She moved the other half of the staff back to her right hand and cracked the cabling to pull it back. Though most of the thrown half was splinters, a weighted end still remained. So she used the weapon like a whip, attempting to wrap it around the ankles of the gun man. She still needed him on the ground for that beating.

Between Mary towing the crippled flyer in like a wayward marlin in the bay, along with Peter smashing at the Vulture's pinions (or whatever he calls them), There was no place left for Toomes to go but down. He pulled the emergency cord and fell out before the rig slammed into the side of the building with a predictable explosion.

Peter, of course, has the reflexes to jump to safety before impact, though he may lose points for form on that landing.

Tandy sees the injured old man, and at once moves to try and heal his ankle. However, she pauses when she realizes the man's words. She remembers the frightened children...and feels Tyrone's stare.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:27, Mon 04 Feb 2019.

In reply to Tandy Bowen (msg # 64):

"We are going." Ty says flatly, not interested in saving the man who nearly shot Tandy in a fly by. He extends his cloak and wraps it around her and the children once more. Attempting to transport them to a much safer place without exploding building and flying bullets.

They leave just before Murdock and Parker double team the man.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Mon 04 Feb 2019.

The twisting, groaning sound of metal buckling beneath his fists was like music to the Spider-Man’s ears as he hammered away at the now failing flying machine. Toomes pulled at a cord and somehow slipped from his grasp but apprehension was not his goal but to ground the criminal to make this fight all the easier. He kicked off the rig but did not try to land on the building and instead shot another line of webbing out to take him higher. From there he could see the gunman and unfortunately the two teens from earlier with who he guessed was the kidnapped children.

The sight of Toomes waving a gun in their direction was enough to make his blood boil to the point he no longer would be satisfied with taking the Vulture’s wings away. No, now he wanted to make sure the man would never walk again. He landed on the side of the building he webbed to then kicked off to send him rocketing in the direction of Toomes. He was too high still but once he was in position he sent a line of his web from each wrist which struck to a handful of feet behind his target. With a strong pull he used that to change his momentum and to also increase the speed he fell. His intention to land on Toomes with a resounding kick.

The last thing the children see as they're whisked away is the Spider-Man slamming both legs into Toomes' back with a thundering CRACK.

The pistol falls from his grip as he crumples to the ground. He reaches for it and tries to crawl, but cannot.

"My legs...I can't...feel my legs...!"

Though the explosion of the rig was not as loud as the TNT had been, it was much closer. Still, Mary was ready for it this time and the results were far less debilitating. Her newly recovered sight went white for a moment, but it returned quickly (though, was it darker than it was before?) and with her other senses it did little to hinder her.

The sudden appearance of Tandy, Tyrone and half a dozen kids was a surprise, but they were gone again as quickly as they had appeared. Mary only spared them enough consideration to hope that they had managed to recover all of the victims.

Then her attention was back on the gunman. He was down, and if that ankle was any indication, he was going to be easy to finish off. So Mary snapped back on the cord, let it wrap around her arm, then started to move towards him.

Spider-man got their first.

The force of the kick was tremendous, as was the sound from the impact. A sound that Mary could easily break down into the slap of leather on leather and the crack of vertebrae shattering. The fight was over and the gunman didn't even notice.

With the immediate threat to life and limb gone, Mary's mind started moving through secondary concerns. That's when it dawned on her that she had removed her mask. It was easy enough to find, and with her sight restored she was reluctant to put it on, but she had people to protect and the fabric wasn't so dense that she couldn't see out of it a little. She just hoped no one had gotten a good look at her.

When she walked out into the open on the rooftop she was unhurried.

"It's in your best interest to stop moving." she said coldly to the gunman. "You don't want to make the damage any worse than it already is."

The force from the kick, the sickening crack of a man’s body breaking beneath his heel and the grim satisfaction that he was the cause of it all hit Peter all at once. Toomes made the grave mistake of flying out here tonight and not had it cost the criminal his flying rig but likely the ability to walk ever again. The latter might have unnerved him before but now after he witnessed the man point a gun at children it was a necessary punishment to deliver to such a fiend. His only regret was he did not dole this out sooner otherwise he would not have put up with this evening’s nonsense.

From behind his mask and goggles he glared at his victim who was trying to crawl but to avail. Part of it was the part he still had a foot planted squarely on the Vulture’s back but there was likely another reason as well. He guessed the other reason was due to something in the man’s body must have snapped thus preventing him to move. Regardless of how he felt about Toomes he had to give credit when he saw how the criminal struggled. Let no one say Toomes's spirit broke before his body did, he thought with a bit of a grim smile to his face.

Daredevil approached the pair and he noticed she was wearing her mask once again. It still boggled him why she took it off in the first place thus giving anyone a good enough look at her true identity. He supposed it was best not to broach that particular topic since it would not do them any good with their current problem. The current problem being that there might still be some children in the arena or the ones responsible for the kidnappings still down there. If they were then they would get the same treatment as Toomes here or possibly worse since crippling one man did little to quell the fire raging within him.

“Best listen to the lady, Toomes” Spider-Man said before he grabbed the man’s arms to pull them back as if he was going to put handcuffs on him. He did not have any but when he webbed the criminal’s hands together they would suffice for bindings. He then picked the man up by the collar and looked him right in the eyes. “The only thing you need to be flapping is your gums. Now, who’s paying you to be out here tonight and why?” He was not going to lead the question by bringing up Kraven since this could possibly be its own separate issue. “Or if you don’t feel in the mood to chat…” He tightened his grip and pulled the man over until he was hanging Toomes over the edge of the building. “You can try your hand at flying without your little machine” he said in a menacing voice before he ever so slightly began to loosen his grip to scare the man into thinking he would actually go through with the threat.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Tue 05 Feb 2019.

Toomes screams as as his broken body is thrown around like a rag doll.

"Kraven! It was Kraven! He knew you'd show up and..."

His explanation is drowned out by the groaning of machinery as the floor of the stadium collapses in like a trapdoor. Behind the prisoner Peter watches the massive winged reptile rises from below. It's easily the size of the blue whale skeleton you've seen at the museum. Despite any doubts he had before, only one word could adequately describe the beast: DRAGON.

It took another moment to take in the scope of the beast, aided by the fact that a man was standing on its back holding straps like it was a horse...

Mary was about to ask Spider-man who Kraven was when something a touch more important came up.

"That... is a dragon." she said as she turned to face it. By now she was fairly certain her eyesight would be gone within the next few moments, but before that happened she was going to get a good look at the thing which should not be.

Every thought in her head screamed at her to do something, but what was she going to do against that? This wasn't a job for Daredevil, it was a job for the army.

Then she looked down at the half staff still in her hand and the cabling wrapped around her arm. If the damn thing came close enough she could perhaps use the weapon to get onto the beast. From there her options expanded quite a bit.

"Any ideas on how to draw it's attention? I need it to come closer."

Peter’s head tilted to the head ever so slightly when Toomes confirmed his suspicions that Kraven was the one behind this but he was also surprised when he was told Kraven was expecting him. As far as he knew he did not know the man so how did the so called dragon hunter deduce he would be here this night? It was concerning, more so than almost being riddled with bullets only a minute ago but before he could learn more another, more pressing problem presented itself.

The terribly loud eruption of the arena collapsing filled his ears or perhaps it was a roar he just heard. Whatever it was it silenced Toomes despite the man continuing to speak and prevented the criminal from possibly revealing more about the situation. He watched as some large beast rose from the rubble. No, calling the creature large was an understatement and when he saw it spread its leathery wings and take to the night sky there was no mistaking what it could be. There goes my story about it all being a hoax, he though while he tightened his grip on Toomes for second before he dropped the criminal off the side of the building.

The man did not fall far before he was caught in a web then wrapped up thus leaving the man with nowhere to go though it seemed pointless given the man likely could still not walk. Still, he did not want to take a chance of the man fleeing while he tried to fight a dragon. How in the world was he supposed to fight a damn mythological monster? Even for a man with powers akin to a spider this was asking a lot but what was the alternative?

He turned to Daredevil and shrugged, not the most assuring gesture but it felt appropriate at the moment. “I can try to get its attention or rather the one riding it. Try to make it fly low so you can do what you need to.” It was not the best plan especially when it meant he would be the one dealing with the dragon’s ire. “Or if you want to hitch a ride I can try to get us both up there. Your choice.”

Cloak rises from the shadows of Holy Ghost Cathedral, 42nd Street NYC. The monsignor who offers them sanctuary is most likely asleep by now. He opens his cape, and Tandy appears, holding up her glowing blade keeping her and the children in its light. They all step out of the darkness.

"Ok kids, the fridge is right there, and you can sleep on the blankets. We have a friend back there so we gotta go, but I promise we will be right back! If the Monsignor asks, just tell him Tandy and Tyrone brought you here, and we will work out the details later!" She gives them all a collective hug, and steps back into Cloak.

Tyrone raises an eyebrow but shrugs. "Try not to mess up the place. We are guests here." He said, and then vanished.

In reply to Peter Parker (msg # 72):

Rising from the shadows, both heroes once again sensed Tyrone's presence before he arrived. He looks up and seems...oddly unsprised at the man riding an actual dragon.

"Oh look. We saw that thing in a cage with a lot of lizard people around it when we got the kids." He spoke about it like it was chatting about the weather.

"Let's get you out of here...Ma...er, Daredevil." He said to Murdock.

"Tyrone, we have to stop that...that thing!" Tandy says, stepping out of the darkness. "Just tell us what to do, Mr Man! Er...Mr Spider-Man?" She asked, unsure.

Mary looked from Peter to Tyrone, weighing her options.

"It looks like the man up there, Kraven perhaps, is actually controlling the thing. So it's possible if we can get up there, push him off and take the reins we can at least get it away from the city."

Finally settling on a plan she focused her attention on Tyrone.

"Can you get me up there? Without your help the thing will need to get closer for me to get up on my own and if it does that a lot of innocent people are going to be put in harm's way."

Peter shook his head when one of the teens asked him what they should do. It was obvious those three knew each other to some capacity and it was apparent by how Miss Murdock or should he say Daredevil focused on using them to get up there. “Do what you do best Tandy,” he said after he recalled the name he gave him earlier. “Just don’t die.” Working as a team was not something he was accustomed to so it was better to play to his strengths than to stand there talking while a dragon could be preparing to raze the city to the ground.

Without another word he jumped off the building and shot out a web to another. Here he was about to engage with a monster out of a fairytale yet his mind was on what the possible headline could be for this event. Dragon Torches Hell’s Kitchen! Fing Fang Foom, New York’s Doom! Spider-Man killed by Dragon… Definitely not letting any of those be it, he thought as he shot another line of webbing. This time he swung low to let the line take him up higher and hopefully closer to his goal. He doubted anyone would blame him for running away from such a colossal terror but running from a fight when the odds were against him was not really his modus operandi. That and if he did not try to help stop this then there would likely be no one left alive in the city to blame him. After everything he went through there was no chance in hell he was going to put that on his conscience.

Unsure if the dragon would feel the web attach to it he decided to be quick about this. Once he was close enough he shot a line right on the tip of the dragon’s tail then when it swung about he used that momentum to launch himself up and towards its back. If he managed to land and cling to it he would make his presence known. Not the brightest move but if he got Kraven’s attention then it meant the others would have an easier time to take the man by surprise. “Hey chum, not sure if you heard but you need a special permit if you want to do any nighttime dragon flying,” he shouted a second after he shot a webline at Kraven’s back.

In reply to Mary Murdock (msg # 75):

Tandy nodded and stretched out her hand for Mary to take it. With her other she held up the dagger of light, surrounding the two of then with a glowing white aura. Tyrone then gathered the cloak and surrounded them both in darkness. Inside, Mary could not see outside the field of light...but she also could not sense anything. Her radar had nothing to bounce off of, not even whatever she felt she was standing on.

There was nothing. Nothing but Darkness, save for Tandy besides her, holding her hand and the dagger. However, with Mary's senses she could feel something out there. A presence, trying to get past the dome of light that surrounded the two living people in its darkness. She could feel its hunger, and it felt her fear. All her fears. Any of her fears. For that moment, it almost could taste her fear.

Then as quickly as it happened, it over. Mary was behind Kraven on his dragon mount, as if just plopped there. Tandy was next to her, managing to balance herself despite the winds and moving scales underfoot. If course with Mary's sense of touch, balance was no issue for her. Behind them Tyrone more or less floated. Ready to grab Tandy or Mary if they fell. He also seemed ready to attack Kraven, but Spiderman's webs beat him to it.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Tue 05 Feb 2019.

Frank climbs out of the underground where the dragon had originated from, moving over to the vent in a fast-walk. He throws on his gear, tossing the bag it was in aside. He wore a trench coat, a white skull painted on some body armor under it. He held a BAR rifle, capable yet heavy in firepower, and with an auto-function no-less. He starts treading towards an open area where he could get a good sight at the dragon, and the man riding it. Whether that be a rooftop, an open area, anywhere really, he just needed a position to fire from. He held something in his left hand, the rifle in his left. A black mask, putting it over his head. The mask had a skull over it, white, with two eye holes. This wasn't Frank, this was The Punisher.

As The Punisher crouches on the roof adjusts the sights on his rifle, he spots movement below. Multiple subjects. Bipedial, but not human.

Frank and Mary hear screams below as a lizard-man leaps onto the web the Spider-Man cast to catch the Toomes's fall. The screams are cut short as the monster sinks its fangs into human flesh.

He takes a look at the bipedal beings, seeing as how Kraven was busy, he grumbled to himself. The Punisher takes aim below at the creatures, having iron sights on his rifle, though that wouldn't hinder him in the slightest. The BAR was a 20-mag rifle which had the range to hit creatures at this distance, maybe in some places not entirely fatal, but a bullet is still a bullet. He proceeds to fire at the creatures, having snapshot precision as he had done things like this before in different scenarios. His shots were accurate and fast, not having to pull a bolt back between shots and being maneuverable in his position to adjust aim quickly. He picks off a creature every few seconds, keeping an awareness of his surroundings.

Without even bothering to look back, Kraven leaned hard to the right. While the webline missed Kraven and hit the base of the dragon's neck, the rider's command sent the dragon in a barrel roll.

Apparently Spider-Man's powers include sticking to lizard scales the size of dinner platters as well as brick walls.

Cloak and Dagger hold onto each other as they hover and are left in the dragon's wake. Its gigantic tremendous tail swings towards the pair like a runaway train.

Mary tries to reach for Tandy and Tyrone but the spin is too fast, and she's sent flying into the night sky.

Civilians in apartment windows across the city scream in unison as the woman's frame passes through the silhouette of the moon.

Is this the end of the WOMAN WITHOUT FEAR, True Believers???

"I'VE GOT HER!"

An impossibly large human hand wraps around Mary's torso and slings her away from the pit below like a rubber band, even as a large lumpy object falls past her.

"HI TOOTS JUST PASSIN' BY!"

Meanwhile, from a safe distance, the Watcher throws his popcorn in the air and cheers as Reed Richards pulls Daredevil into the relative safety of the rocket-powered FANTASTI-CAR!

In reply to The Narrator (msg # 81):

Tyrone transports both Tandy and he away from the lashing tail, hovering to some other spot in mid-air. The massive natural weapon sweeps through the air, striking nothing.

Tandy seemed able to touch Tyrone despite his ethereal nature when he hovers. As a result she did not fall. She seemed ready to jump for Mary, but the rubber man with his flying car seemed to have the situation...well, in hand.

"Let's go! They don't need us!" Tyrone said, ready to transport away.

"There are innocent people in those buildings! Kids! They will all burn if we let them!" Tandy said, looking into his eyes. "We are part of this now! We can't let this happen!"

Tyrone frowned, his jaw set. However, he did not meet her eyes. Then he looks at her. "The second its gets dangerous for you, we are out of here!" He says firmly.

Tandy does not respond. She just kisses his cheek, and leaps away. Despite the fact she seems to be falling, she is actually in a guided glide. Led by the dagger of light in her left hand. She lands gracefully on a nearby rooftop, as if lighter than air.

Then she proceeds to throw the dagger at the dragon. Once it leaves her hand, it becomes pure light. A weapon made of energy, it zips away from Tandy and heads for the dragon. It even makes coarse corrections as if it was a flying animal, but anyone looking at Tandy would see the circle mark glowing around her right eye. The look of concentration on her face would suggest she is directing the energy weapon's movements.

Assuming the Dragon is even paying attention, it would notice the beam of sharp light attempt to pierce its wings. It will then spin about in mid-air, trying to pierce the other wing as well. The dagger can melt through almost any substance, and quickly with its speed. However, this was no mere block of steel.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:20, Wed 06 Feb 2019.

In reply to Tandy Bowen (msg # 82):

Tyrone worked with his partner like a well oiled machine. While the dragon may be harmed by the dagger trying to poke holes in its wings, it was not paying attention to what it was flying toward. Tyrone took advantage of that, and proceeded to appear directly in front of its head as it flew forward.

This would allow Cloak to open his void, and put the beast's head directly into the other dimension he was physically linked to. It looked like the dragon's head had vanished into Tyrone's body under the cloak. Even if it could breath fire, it would be shooting that fire into the void, not Tyrone or anyone or anything in this dimension.

Needless to say, all this disruption might make flying very hard for the disoriented giant lizard. Of course, Kraven might be too busy with the others to try and help his mount.

Peter braced when he saw Kraven pulled at the reins and put the dragon into a spin but noticed how easily he stuck to the beast’s hide as easily as he did the side of a building. He would have to ponder later just what he could and could not cling to since the first priority was to somehow ground this dragon. This meant he needed to stop the rider from controlling it but that limited his options. The first thought was to destroy the harness Kraven was using but that was not the best idea. It would mean the dragon would be free to do whatever it wished and that could possibly cause even more destruction than whatever Kraven was planning.

His only real option was to somehow disable Kraven or at the very least take the reins from him. From there he would have to hope controlling a dragon was as easy as it looked to be. He noted the others were handling the beast in their own unique ways. The kids possessed a lot of talent and he felt a moment of gratitude they were using their powers for good. A lot of people would have done the opposite so he might have to thank them later even if his words did not matter in the slightest.

With the dragon occupied this left its master to him and he needed to have a chat with the man. His web was still attached to the creature so he used it to get him closer by jumping then pulling on the thread to sail forward until he was right at Kraven’s back. “Question,” he said while he cocked a fist and sent it right towards the back of the man’s head. Given how quick the man appeared to be he was ready for it to miss and if it did he was ready to move. “The fliers, hiring Toomes, what’s your angle?”

As the dragon rolls, it misses the first stroke of the light-dagger. But when the beast opens its jaws, it the universe seemed to pause for a moment. Who was consuming whom?

Teeth the size of swords brushed against the inky darkness.

Tyrone had seen the darkness of men's hearts through the cloak, but this beast? How could he have been prepared for these scenes?


Enough. It was too much even for the cloak to consume. Whatever is hiding deep inside the immeasurable void contained within Tyrone Johnson...flinched.

For the first time he felt the entity inside feel fear. It drew him backwards until he landed on solid ground. Gunshots were ringing from Frank's rifle and from outside the facility. Surely the authorities were converging to eradicate the inhuman threat.

The form that was once Toomes ripped itself from the web. Before his very eyes, the man should never be able to walk again slowly stood and spread his arms. With a long hissss his clothing ripped apart as they stretched into wings. The hands stretched into talons. Grinning teeth enlarged into fangs.

Mary settled into the back of the car with a heavy thud, all thoughts of grace lost after falling from a GOD DAMN DRAGON! Her eyesight was gone again as well. It had been fading slowly since she had recovered it, but Tyrone's power had taken what Tandy's power had given. And now she was just Mary again.

"Thanks for the save." she managed weakly, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Frustrated with herself for not making the connection sooner, she was busy pouring through memories of her training with Stick, trying to recall if he had ever mentioned directly, or referred indirectly, anything about dragons.

<< From ROXXON mines

Iron Man had stopped at the zeppelin for refueling before heading to New York.  As he neared the city, the bright lights came into view and he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.  Even with all his inventions, Tony still found marvel in things as simple as lights crowded together.

Over his radio he confirmed his orders from Fury, "Hell's Kitchen, you say?  I'm headed there now.  And you're sure they said 'dragon', right?  Dragon?!  It's gotta be some chump with a DaVinci-like flying machine, no?"

Tony continued on his way to the mission area, streaking over the skies of New York.

Kraven leaned to the other side, sending the dragon to roll in the opposite direction as he grabbed Peter's wrist. His grip felt like a vice and cut off the web gland, in that arm at least.

"You would never understand unless you've been to the Savage Lands! Dinosaurs and even stranger creatures still roam the Earth! Truly the Last Frontier! The Ultimate Hunting Ground! But nothing will stop ROXXON from strip-mining it for vibranium...such a loss! But before that happens I can transplant the Savage Lands to your backwards country!"

"I have no love for Octavius and his eugenics nonsense...competition, not foolish tinkering will advance the species! Our greatest and first advances! Arrows! Fire! Harnessed to defeat the Neanderthal! And we've been wasting our resources fighting ourselves killing each other ever since! What better way to jump start human evolution than to bring back its first and deadliest competitor, HOMO REPTILICUS!"

Kraven furrows his brow as he watches Tony Stark's flame trail streak closer from the south. He kicks his spurred heels under the beast's scales and speeds towards it, determined to destroy any challenger to his supremacy of the skies.

"Roxxon will have a supply of nonhuman soldiers and slaves! And New York shall truly be my CONCRETE JUNGLE! My HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:20, Thu 07 Feb 2019.

Tandy's dagger of light, like a guided missile, finally catches up to its target and blasts a small hole through its wing. The beast roars in pain but cannot deviate from Kraven's trajectory towards Iron Man.

As the dagger returns to Tandy's hand and rematerializes, another occupant of the Fantasti-Car leaps from the craft.

"FLAME ON!"

Johnny Storm immediately hovers as a sheath of energy envelops him, and the air around him combusts in contact with it.

"Nice trick with the dagger, lady! Now we know we can burn it! If we could only get that other guy off his back we could fry both the lizard AND the rider!"

Tyrone has to turn his face away from the Human Torch's radiance as he soars off in pursuit of the dragon.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:52, Thu 07 Feb 2019.

Meanwhile, as Frank tries to get a bead on the dragon or its rider, a shadow flies over him in the moonlight, and a pterodactyl-like creature that once was Toomes circles the vigilante and dives towards him!

In reply to Johnny Storm (msg # 89):

Tyrone is still somewhat shaken. Not physically hurt, as being 'bitten' by the dragon did no actual harm. It was the thing in the darkness that did not much like the 'taste' of the dragon. Tyrone is physical enough to get to his semi-solid feet that he has for the moment.

"Ty! We need to get Spidey away from Kraven!" She says, running over to his side after a quick glide-jump via the dagger. "Are you ok!?" She says, never having seen Tyrone actually...hurt by anything but her light burst.

"Fine! I'm fine!" He growls, and nods at her plan. He opens his cloak, and she jumps in. They both vanish, only to reappear in mid air in front of Spider-man as he is dragged in the air.

His spider-sense does not actually go off this time, mostly because they are no danger to him. Tyrone opens his cloak, and Tandy is there within the darkness, reaching for Peter. "We gotta go!" She says to him, reaching with her free hand.

Assuming Peter goes along, he will enter the cloak within the dagger's protective light aura. Then only to be transported to another rooftop.

Air raid sirens wail over New York City as spotlights shine on the dragon soaring above. In the streets, Police and National Guardsmen set up barricades and unleash bullets at any reptilian that comes within range.

From a military Jeep, General Ross watches the skyfight from his binoculars. He pulls cigar out of his mouth and spits.

"SHIELD is so busy cracking up stills in the Appalachians that they let THAT thing slip through Customs? I'm gonna give Fury a piece of my mind when this is over! I'll ask President Roosevelt to cut their funding!"

Peter winced when he felt the pain from Kraven’s grip squeeze his arm but it was soon drowned out thanks to Kraven’s words. Why creeps always wanted to monologue was beyond him but this turned out to be exactly what he needed to hear. Like with most people when he became angry it could let people fight even harder than before, and while he was no hulking monster the emotion served just fine in this moment. Toomes lying crippled on that rooftop was a prime example of what happened when Peter was sent into a rage and that particular incident paled in comparison to vision of New York this hunter spoke of.

The images of humans turned into monsters rampaging across the city, of those he still gave a damn about either being made into creatures or killed by them all for the sport of a madman. People being used for another’s whims and delights. Just like Gwen. Like Ben… A memory flashes in his mind and with it all the sensations from that night. The sound of something or rather someone being pummeled, the wet squelching of a person being reduced to a bloody pulp, the vibrations of his fists striking into flesh, the blurred vision thanks to a mix of uncontrollable rage and tears filling his eyes. The cries for mercy and the blood from those words splattering onto his mask though they were unheard from his own words that he punctuated with each blow.

That thought along with the pounding of his own heartbeat was all heard. Not the beating of the dragon’s wings, the continued ranting of the madman or even the pair of teens who were offering him a chance to escape. It was not until he glanced back did he notice the duo. Even if he was thinking clearly he would not flee. Once he set his mind to a task he was going to see it through for better or worse and this one was certainly going to be the latter. Not only for him but Kraven as well.

His body moved thanks to him finding the strength to take the hunter away from his precious pet. He knew what Tyrone’s cloak could do and in his current situation there was no way he could escape its pull. This fact did not bother him though, if he was going for a trip then so was Kraven. Peter’s arm was still locked in the vice that was his foe’s hand but his other arm was still unrestrained. He punched Kraven thrice in the kidney with enough force for the man’s grip to lessen and with it he wrenched his arm free. Now free he grabbed Kraven’s arm then with his own crushing grip held on while he jumped back into Tyrone’s cloak. Now there would be no one on the dragon and the fliers could engage it without fear of friendly fire.

Not that Peter was worried about that part now that he was in the swirling darkness still locked in combat with a man who was determined to turn the city into his own personal playground.

Frank looked over, letting go of the rifle with his right hand and instead of pointing it, turned his body to the right while tearing his right hand across his chest. From over his chest he grabbed the handle of a Colt .45. He springs to his feet as shots fire off, not entirely accurate but if the figure continues to dive right at him at such close range, it would surely hit its mark.

The rifle dipped a bit, not held with both hands and only his left, making the rifle unbalanced with loss of aim. The Colt only had 7 shots so Frank had to make sure he didn't miss after the first 2. With the direction the figure was going, this seemed to not be a problem as most people are dumb enough, yes dumb enough, to charge a handgun from an experienced shooter.

Tony closes in on the area, spotlights lighting up the skyline.  It was then that he saw it... and actual dragon.

"Holy cannoli, it's a cotton-pickin' dragon!" he said, his radio still active.  And for better or worse, it was headed straight for him.  From his angle, Tony couldn't see the figures riding on it's back.

"Well, let's see how it handles a lead shower", Iron Man adjusted the power of his thrusters enough to hover in mid air, bringing both arms up to bear on the incoming dragon.  It would be best to get the thing grounded first, so he aimed the barrels of the machine guns attached to his forearms at the wings of the creature.  Given enough of a spread, they should manage to shred the membranes and bring the thing crashing down.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:23, Fri 08 Feb 2019.

Tyrone returns to the rooftop, releasing Tandy and Peter from his cloak. "What the hell was THAT!?" He says, looking at Peter. The normally stoic teen with the hint of hostility clearly had seen something so bizarre it threw him off his normally unflappable nature.

Toomes clearly wasn't human anymore, but Frank aimed for the torso hoping the thing could still bleed, and indeed it did. It lurched backwards in the air from each shot and finally dropped like a stone.

Already smarting from a hole in its membrane from the light-dagger, it pulled in its wings and dove. As it did it bellowed a torrent of white-hot energy from its jaws, the spread wide enough to catch Iron Man in its blinding heat and push the suit's heat tolerances to the limit.

Johnny flew into the line of fire, being shocked backwards as he pulled Tony out of range.

Reed Richards called out on the SHIELD frequency.

"Johnny! This creature's energy attack has the same signature as yours! It's FUSION energy! The Power Cosmic!"

"Are you saying my flames won't be able to harm it, Reed?"

Warning bells went off as Tony's suit reached critical temperatures after the dragon "breathed" on him.  He was about to power down and force the suit to drop out of the breath attack when a humanoid ball of fire grabbed him and they were both knocked back.

"Whew, thanks.  You literally just pulled my kiester out of the frying pan.  Let's hope it wasn't into the fire..."

The temps on his suit were coming down, but not without at least some moderate damage.  The thruster still worked, thankfully, so he wouldn't have to be grounded.

"Seems that regular old slugs do the trick on the thing, but we're going to have to find a way to avoid it's breath.  How's about we tag-team it?  See if you can distract it long enough for me to attack from it's flank."

It hovers before the two, snorting flames. Then it roars.

"TING!" It raises its claw, palm open and out.

"JING-GAO!" It points at the two with one claw, growling with added warning.

"FAN-HUI!" It points a claw due south, and turns its head that way momentarily.

It seems almost to sigh in desperation. "GAH-LAK-TUSSSS.."

It flaps its wings and and proceeds south as fast as it can.

Iron Man's head cocks to the side slightly and Tony's trademark, 'hmm' can be heard from inside the metal shell.

"My Chinese is a bit rusty, but I think he said 'listen, warning, return', and then indicated south.  Not sure where he's making tracks to, but if he's not bothering NYC, we're okay, right?" he said over the SHIELD frequency.

"And I could have sworn the last thing he said was 'Galactus'?  Do we know any big bad eggs named Galactus?"

He looked at the Human Torch, "Probably best I set down to make sure I'm not leaking or something."

Hidden behind his mask it was impossible to tell when Peter’s face paled at the sight of Kraven tearing the webs as if they were not even a nuisance.  Whoever this guy was he was unstoppable and he was unsure of what they could do to put this threat down.  Fortunately the problem was solved by someone, something else in the form of an insect like appendage pierce Kraven’s body. It appeared out of nowhere and completely undetected even by his sixth sense. Of course it would because even if it meant Peter harm he saw no reason why the being who cursed him with these powers would be unable to subvert them.

This was the second time he witnessed the Spider-God though now he could not chalk the first instance as only a dream or wild hallucination. It was real and it was just has horrible looking as he remembered. The presence of it caused him to freeze, unable to move though it was not due to any sort of power it held but his own fear. Even if he could move he would not have tried to stop it wrapping Kraven up in its webs. Instead he simply watched and silently gulped when the Spider-God’s prey stopped screaming. Its words a reminder of what happened when one stole from a deity and he wondered if that was also a hint to why he was this way now.

His contemplation and fear broke when the god addressed him, its warning clear enough and one he could not ignore.  Before he could respond it was gone in a loud rush of webbing as it spirited itself and Kraven away to wherever this Cytorrak was.  The darkness vanished and he found himself back under the New York night sky, the battle still raging on as fiercely as when they first entered that strange, dark dimension.

Immediately his head snapped up and he saw the dragon being accosted only for it to address its attackers then speak to them. At least he thought it was speaking since those did not sound like any of the roars it made previously. Whatever it was doing it was enough to give the pursuers pause. Maybe that would be enough  but it was better to be sure. “Tandy, Tyrone” he looked to the pair. “Find Daredevil, if she’s still in that flying car then tell them what we heard. Fing Fang Foom can’t die otherwise more than the city is doomed.” He glanced back up at the dragon. “I’m going to tackle the problem that all caused in another way.”

He shot a web out and swung away to get to his next destination. Thankfully it was not far, the side of the building where he left his bag which also held his camera. Spider-Man retrieved the device then moved into position to take the best shots he could of the dragon along with the lizardmen rampaging through the streets. Authorities would likely try to cover this up as best they could but the story needed to be told. Unless Fing Fang Foom was attacked again he would focus a little more on the photos before he stowed the camera away to help fight off the remaining reptilian ground forces. His body told him not to, it still ached all over from his tussle and adrenaline would only take him so far. Despite that he had to try, turning tail and running while these creatures were running was not an option until he was sure the military had everything under control.

In reply to Peter Parker (msg # 102):

"Wait a second! I want answers!" Tyrone said as Peter swung away, but did not even attempt to stop him. Mostly he was still in shock at what he had seen within the darkness of his cloak.

"It does not matter now! We need to get to Mary! Quick!" Tandy pointed out, tugging on Tyrone's now solidified arm. She always seemed able to reach his humanoid form, even when it was normally not present.

Ty nodded, and opened the cloak, once again transporting himself and Tandy. They both appeared in the fantasicar, right behind Mr Fantastic. Although Mary detected them just before Cloak manifested.

"You can't kill the dragon! It's not at fault! It was enslaved by Kraven! It's free now, you have to let it go! Otherwise the city is in real danger!" Of course, Tandy had no way of explain why that was the case...other than a spider-god made of human parts told her that. Which sounded crazy...

Frank sets the rifle down, more of a light toss so it wouldn't break. He did this with his left hand, his right popping the magazine out of the .45, the mag dropping to the ground with a clack. His left hand then moved over to his belt, grabbing a new mag and placing it in the old one's place. He pops the chamber back with a quick tug, keeping his distance from Toomes as he moves over towards the attacker. His aim rejoined back over towards the figure as he held with two hands and spoke, "If you're alive start talkin'." Frank pulls the hammer back on the handgun, "Or you're not leavin' this place." Sure, he might be dead, but Frank wasn't one to let someone attack him then immediately turn his back to get shot. He was making sure Toomes was either dead or giving information.

Her memories...

The words of the monster...

The words of her... friends...

"It is a creature named Fin Fang Foom, and I've have heard that is stands guardian against an entity known as Galactus. It protects a device of some kind, perhaps a weapon, something the planet eater fears."

Her words faltered as the sounds of suffering rose up from the streets beneath them. Ferocious lizard creatures, perhaps the results of a contagion that could spread, were spilling out of the stadium. Her city needed her. But if the scrolls had been correct, the world might need her as well. Could she let New York burn to ensure the planet survived?

Apparently, she could.

"Please follow it." she said to Reed Richards. She knew of him, Mr. Fantastic, like most of New York did. He was different, like she was, like Tandy and Tyrone were, but rather than hide the fact he had embraced it. And for all of the advantages that approach had provided, it still put him in an invisible cage. Mary wasn't sure she would have made the same choices in his shoes. "We have to make sure nothing else tries to hurt it or keep it from its vigil. And we have to ensure the nullifier has not been taken in the creature's absence."

"And if anyone catches sight of a flying man made of silver, it may already be too late."

From a safe distance, the Watcher drops his binoculars when he sees Mary mouth the word “Galactus”.

“Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!? DAMMIT!”

There’s no reason a telephone should be on the ledge of the building next to his bagel, but he picks the phone up and doesn’t bother to use the dial. He casts a side long glance at the lizard man lurking on the other building that seems oblivious to his presence.

“Hello? Yes. We have a problem...”

He hears a scream and sees a lizard crouched the edge of the building next door where a mother and child are crouched in fear.

”Yes I’ll hold...”

He looks away and tosses his bagel behind him, over his head, which just happens to distract the lizard man so he loses his balance, and sends it slipping backwards off the building to fall to its death.

”That was an everything bagel, too...”

Dr. Richards turns to speak to Mary while he massages his now misshapen arm, wincing in pain as he starts to mold it back into shape. Reed's wife Susan takes the controls.

"Someday I might get used to doing this...so the dragon was acting as a guardian against a Destroyer of Worlds? That would explain some of the artifacts we saw..."

"Victor Von Doom won't take kindly to us re-entering the territory he's claimed so soon." adds Susan.

"Doubtless he's set up some perimeter defenses already. We'll drop you off on a rooftop, Miss, before we retrieve Ben and escort this...dragon."

There were some advantages to Peter sticking to the rooftops and the sides of buildings to take his photographs. The first being he was able to handle the lizard men who were scaling the structures while the military could tend to the ones in the streets. The second was no one was really paying him much mind thanks to the reptilian threat so he was able to take what he considered paper worthy photos. With this story he would be able to get the truth of this incident even if there was no hard evidence of ROXXON’s involvement aside from being the reason for the stadium being built. It would have to do since his only witness was now being whisked away through the ether to face judgement on a cosmic level. Oh how he missed the days when he was a simple reporter whose only concern was exposing corrupt city officials or mobsters.

There were some downsides to doing this with the main one being he had no one to help him deal with these lizard men and frankly the Spider-Man was running on fumes after how much he had exerted himself so far. It was mainly due to the fight with Kraven which while was short was brutal as the hunter could hit harder than anyone else Peter had ever faced against. His arm was still throbbing in pain from where it was gripped so tightly that it pained him greatly to even shoot a web from that wrist. This meant he had to stick to more conventional methods to deal with these monsters.

The camera was stowed away by it being webbed into a makeshift satchel that was strapped to his body, and with it secured he unclipped the strap that kept his revolver in its holster. He pulled the firearm free by the time the first lizard man made its ascent to the rooftop, the creature lunging towards him with its brethren following the same course. Six shots, seven targets. Won’t have time to reload, he assessed with the knowledge this was likely not going to be easy. The first turned out to be simple enough to dispose since it would reach him first, so when it pounced at him he sidestepped and kicked the back of its legs. Its knees were sent cracking into the rooftop, the sound of the revolver’s hammer being pulled back went unheard as the barrel was pressed against its scaly head.

A resounding bang erupted, the bullet tore through its target and exited out the other side. Blood and viscera flecked Spider-Man’s body as he disposed of one threat then turned to the others. The next three reached him at the same time, his body tensed for a moment before he sprang to the side. A shot of webbing caught one in the foot thus causing it to trip and taking it out of the fight momentarily. The next he took head on quite literally when it chomped at his face only for him to wrap his arm around its neck for leverage to kick lift up and kick the third lizard man. The one he was close to likely felt the gun’s barrel at its chin before the bullet pierced upwards and into its brain. The vibrations from the shot shook Peter’s arm and he winced slightly from the pain coursing through him.

Another lizard man jumped towards him and he landed on his back and kicked upward and away to send it flying off the edge of the building. Its companion took the opportunity to launch itself at the prone prey and was rewarded with the metallic taste of a revolver barrel in its mouth. Another shot and another enemy dead as the Spider-Man jumped to his feet to handle the next three. Two jumped at him from different angles and they were rewarded for their efforts when their teeth sank into flesh, blood gushing into their mouths. Unfortunately for the pair the crimson liquid belonged to their dead kin as their quarry had leaped straight up and used his webbing to put the recently slain lizard man where he was just standing.

He landed on the pair, delivering a kick to each to stun them long enough for him to feed each of them a helping of lead. One enemy remained and it seemed just as mindless as its fellows from the way it rushed in without a second thought. Maybe this was easier than he originally believed but it was dashed when his supernatural sense warned him of danger in the form of a lizard man charging at him from behind. It was the one he assumed was killed when he sent it flying off the roof. Now here it was raking at his back with its wicked looking claws. He managed to evade the blow but not the backhand from his other foe which sent him skidding across the ground.

The taste of blood pooling inside his mouth, the burn like feeling of his body being sent across the hard surface of the building and the other injuries he sustained this evening were all hitting him at once. Even so he got up albeit in a groggily, his foes were right upon him when he fired but he fell to one knee. The shot only grazed one of the monsters and once more knew there would be no time to reload. This was going to be the end of him. This was not the way he wanted to go but it was not as if he was living his life in any meaningful way either. Maybe this was for the best. Time seemed to slow down as he pondered what here was worth living for and the answer came from the battle raging below him. The soldiers fighting for their lives, protecting the civilians who were running for their own just like May would be if she was here.

That thought was enough to stoke the fire inside him again, he gritted his teeth as he glared at the lizard men charging towards him. “Come and get it you sons of bitches,” he whispered then stepped backwards and off the building’s rooftop. His foes were right behind him and the three began to fight in the air with Peter using his webs to take advantage of being able to fight with mobility despite being in freefall. Even so the monsters were able to get a few good licks in but the battle came to a halt when he shot a web back towards the building then used it as a springboard to send a mighty punch to each enemy. This sent them careening towards the ground but they never made impact.

The Spider-Man shot a webline from each arm while he stood on the side of the building. His targets were easy enough to hit in their current state so when each web struck they clung to the back of each lizard man’s neck. That coupled with the sudden deceleration was enough for their necks to snap cleanly with a loud, sickening crunch! He thought it was effective enough but something about this he found unsettling though whatever it was would have to be processed later. Before he returned to the action he paused long enough to reload his gun and to check to make sure his camera was still intact. After that was completed he returned to the fight, his wounds were catching up to him and he hoped to see the tide of this fight turn in the human’s favor. There was no telling how much longer he could keep this up before he either had to admit to his shortcoming and run or die defending the city.

The saurian growled and hissed as it coughed clots of blood from its muzzle.

"Paid to...catch Ssssspider-man...for Kraven..."

It gurgled as it craned its neck.

"All I wasss paid...not to deal with monsstersss...not to be a monssster!"

The creature that was once Toomes turns its face to stare back with a yellow eye.

"Adviccce...Don't let them bite you...or you end up like me...now do me a favor..."

He closes his eye.

"End thissss...before nothing is left but...the hunger..."

Ty vanished with Tandy in tow, both of them looking off the side of the fantasicar and seeing gaint lizards running around the streets of NYC. Spider Man already had jumped away and planned to start fighting for the people down there, and Tandy had gotten Ty's attension and he just nodded silently at her choice.

They both appeared on the streets below, in the midst of a swarm of the lizard men even as they tore into a crowd. Tyrone stretched out with the cloak, sweeping over the riot like nightfall. Tandy stayed with him, inside the void and held up the dagger. The light reaching the humans and not the reptile people.

Weather or not berserk reptiles had the brainpower to feel the fear of the unnatural void, they certainly had issues with cold. Most of them curled into a fetal position as whatever heat they needed to keep going was swiftly drained from their bodies. The humans, shielded by being mammals and Dagger's light, managed to restrain their screams long enough for Cloak's darkness to pass over them without harm.

Tandy noticed some of the humans had been bit, and from the injury scales where already starting to spread.

"Ty, keep them off me! I am going to try to use the dagger to cure this!" While indeed the dagger of light could cure poisons, plagues, and injuries-she had never tried to change someone back to a human being. It certainly could not do that for Tyrone.

Even as Ty used his cloak to block incoming attacks from other lizards as Tandy and the still humans stayed behind him, Tandy checked over the wounded. She willed the dagger of light into its energy form, and plunged it into the bite wound of one of the slowly transforming victims. If it was a normal wound, it would be healed...but this was no normal wound.

With this information taken to mind, Fran points the handgun at the creature's head, firing off two rounds. Two to make sure it died, though not of mercy, out of doing a job. He turns his head back towards the scene, holstering the Colt. He grabs the BAR off the ground, checking the mag. There'd only be 4 rounds left, but that'd be plenty. He takes up his position, scanning the area for something meaningful to fire at with his last few rounds.

"What a crazy night."

Indeed, while the physical cold of the Darkforce had a paralyzing effect on these creatures, they were immune to the psychic effects. There was no conscience left to exploit, only hunger.

The dagger flashed brightly as it entered the wound, stifling the transforming infection, but dispatching the remaining life force as well. This specimen at least was too far gone to save.

In reply to The Narrator (msg # 112):

Tyrone noticed the now dead but fully human Tandy was standing over. He noticed her eyes getting wide and filling with tears, and she looked from the body to the glowing dagger she held.

"Tandy! Tandy, don't look at it!" He said, and suddenly felt a clawed hand swipe at his darkness. It withdrew and the wielder of said claw, a lizard-woman in a torn dress and odd furry square hat hissed at him. Other started to swarm, trying to get past him yet unwilling to dive into that cold void. They would eventually get by him, as he did not know if he could consume them all. They had nothing to feed on, and his inner darkness vomited them out of its void due to lack of inner 'light'. Granted they could not hurt him ether, but he was standing between  them and Tandy and the group of normal terrorized humans behind her.

"Tandy, listen to me!" He said, expanding his cloak to create a wall of darkness between the living humans and the lizard horde. "You gave that man peace! You had to! There is nothing left of them, I know it! If you don't help me now, all those people behind you are going to end up like him!"

The lizards started crawling up the sides of the walls of the alley to try to get past the cloak. Cloak's darkness portal was limited somewhat to what his body should be. Granted he could take up more space than a normal body via the cape, but even it had its limits. There was just too many of them to keep them all out.

"TANDY, I CAN'T DO THIS BY MYSELF!" He said, surprised to hear it. He had never admitted that before.

It was then he saw a moving stream of light. Moving through the ones sneaking in along the edges of his cloak. At once being purified back into normal human bodies...dead ones anyways. Half a dozen fell to the flying glowing dagger as they where struck, and the rest where forced into the darkness of the cloak-only to be 'spit' out again, near frozen.

"I need you too." Her heard Tandy's voice behind him, a little sniff of tears and sadness still heard in her voice.

Tyrone nodded, gave her a smile-one of his rare ones. Then he gathered her up, and the other humans, and transported them to someplace much safer.

The battle for New York continued on into the night and Peter wondered if there was any end in sight. For every lizard man he killed there were two more to take its place and he understood why when he witnessed a man be bitten then become one of the very monsters that attacked him. The effect was immediate so he knew that he had to avoid their dagger like teeth of theirs at all cost while also keeping citizens from falling victim to them as well. On paper it was a simple enough plan, if they could prevent more people from becoming these reptilian horrors then all that was left to do was kill those that remained. It did not mean the task would be easy though and with each minute that dragged on the more he felt his body slow down. That fact aside he had to keep trying and accept whatever might result from his decision as it was.

He was now on a street in an attempt to turn back the tide of claws and scales that rushed towards some fleeing citizens. It was not going well at all. He was down to his last few rounds in his revolver and the number of monsters far exceeded it.  How he was going to do this was beyond him but complaining about it would not do him any good. He was a flurry of punches and kicks with a shot from his firearm sounding off every now and then. In his wake were dead lizards but the horde kept moving, the deaths of their kin did not faze them in the slightest.

A scream from off to the left caused him to turn and he saw a family about to be set upon by a pair of lizards. He only had two rounds left in his pistol and he could not guarantee those would be enough to stop the threat either. There was no way he could reach them in time to intercept the lizard men but he could bring the family to him. With a flick from his wrists webs enveloped the family and he pulled with all his strength. The lizard men crashed to the pavement, their claws only finding the cement of the street as the family was now beside the webslinger.

“Get of here!” He yelled at the family, a husband, wife and son while he freed them from the web. Just then his sixth sense went off and he saw what caused it to flare. The man he had just saved was bitten in the leg, Peter did not realize it until just now as the man became covered in scales. The newly made lizard man opened its maw and to sink its fangs into the woman, who screamed at the top of her lungs. A flash of blood, a cry from the boy followed by a gunshot ripped through the night.

The lizard man fell to the ground dead from the gunshot to its head and the boy opened his eyes to see his father turned monster looking at him with a lifeless gaze. The child looked up and saw his mother with a shocked expression but she looked from her husband’s body to Spider-Man or rather the wound on his arm. It was all he could do, put himself in the way to save the woman and from the boy having to suffer the loss of both parents. A lot of good it did him though. Looks like the Parker luck has struck again he thought grimly as he gripped at the wound.

“I said, GO!” Peter yelled at the pair which shook the mother from her stupor. No more words were said as she picked her child up and ran away as fast as her legs could carry them. He glanced at his wound, the pain burned and he wondered how long it would take for him to succumb to this affliction. For the moment he could still fight and at least now he could fight without any worry for his own life. He was bitten so there was no point playing it safe. He holstered the pistol after he made the decision to use it later. After all there was only one bullet left and he intended to be selfish by saving it for himself.

Frank looked over the streets, taking a thought of what to do. He drops the rifle and makes his way off the roof, moving to a warehouse he used as an armory. It wasn't too far, concealed in the basement storage part. It was a 15 minute walk, though taking 7 with a jog. Frank moved down the main streets, taking out two .38 revolvers from his trench coat. His belt carried bullets galore, different calibers for whatever he might be carrying. Any lizardlings which came up to him were immediately greeted with a revolver to the face, chest, or kneecap. He seemed like a mad-man, a skull on his chest holding two guns while chaos erupted through the area. Frank was an experienced shooter, making quick 1 or 2 shot kills was his specialty.

In short, Frank could be seen walking down streets holding two revolvers while blasting any creatures which came near him. The revolvers were double action, meaning he didn't need to pull the hammer back between shots. It was like the reaper himself was walking through a city.

The following is heard on a nearby radio as air raid sirens wail.

"I repeat, stay in your homes! Cover your windows and prepare to defend yourself if possible!

Gunshots echo through Lower Manhattan as we discover how many New Yorkers are secretly packing heat!

Costumed heroes and villains alike are emerging from the shadows to face this threat to the Natural Order!

The National Guard is sealing off Hell's Kitchen from the rest of Manhattan, especially around the Lincoln Tunnel. Do not attempt to cross!"

"The national Guard! We have some place to bring the people!" Tandy said, brighting both emotionally and literally.

"Bet they shoot at us first..." Tyrone grumbled, and Tandy poked him with a finger in the side.

"Stop complaining! We have the option at least! Let's go!"

Ty seemed to want to say something else, but held his tongue and proceeded to draw Tandy and the remaining humans with them into his void.

Ty appeared before the gathered National guard troops, and needless to say they started shooting. The bullets passed harmlessly into him, and he glared at the gun wielding men but did nothing. After they stopped shooting, noticing both Ty was not attacking and not a lizard, Tandy emerged.

Her light seemed to bring a sense of calm and peace to the area-for both the soldiers and the former victims she brought out of the void with her. The people ran to the soldiers, thankful to see rescue and help-both medical and otherwise. One child gave Tandy a hug before heading back to her mother.

She turned back to Ty. "There are still more in the city you know..." She pointed out.

"The smartest move would be gathering up the kids we rescued and getting away from here." Ty said, still watching the soldiers with hostility. They gave similar looks back, but where not pointing weapons at him anymore.

"Or, we could go back and ferry more people to safety. Like you would do without me being here. So don't use my safety as an excuse, ok?" She said, and kissed his cheek. He huffed, but nodded.

"Ok, ok..." He said with grudging acceptance. Tandy stepped into the cloak, and he melted away into shadow once more. Already headed back into the chaos to find more people.

Peter cursed under his breath as he dodged a swipe from a reptilian claw. These things were multiplying at an alarming rate which was bad enough but there was an equally pressing matter he needed to deal with. Somehow he had not turned yet despite the fact others he saw be bitten became lizardmen almost instantly. Maybe it was the curse of the Spider-God that was responsible for him being at the very least resistant to these monsters’ wicked bite. Well the plague they spread at least since they could still tear through him easily enough and he realized that made him more of a meal than a target to infect. Somehow that feels more comforting than becoming one of these freaks, he thought to himself as he gripped his foe by the neck then twisted hard until he heard a very distinct snapping noise.

He dropped the body to the ground then dropped as well to duck out of the way of another lizardman barreling towards him. It crashed through the storefront window of the shop behind him and from there over the sounds of chaos around him he heard the radio announcement.  The news others were fighting these things off other than the military was the push he needed to keep going. If others were still trying then he could not quit now. The only problem was how were they going to contain the situation when the other side could replenish its forces almost instantly?

For now the answer was to hold the line and keep anyone else from being bitten. If the civilians could be evacuated then that would slow down the number of people turned. From there they could begin to purge these monsters from the city.

Mary couldn't see the Sun rise, but that fact didn't mean that her sins were not, even now, being laid bare for all to see. She had not rescued the children. She had not stopped the man who had enslaved Fin Fang Foom. She did not know if the Nullifier was intact. She had not saved the people that had been turned into lizardmen.

But it was worse than that, so much worse.

She had fought them. She saw no other choice. Their bite spread some kind of foul disease and they were so resilient. There were so many of them. They were monsters, and she killed them.

And then they were not monsters any more.

Some other hero, a flying man in a metal suit, had sprayed an aerosol into the hordes, and they had slowly returned to normal, cured of their affliction. Someone else had saved them. The survivors at least. Because it wasn't just the living that returned to normal, it was the dead as well.

Mary stood upon the streets of Hell's Kitchen, her black wool clothing now saturated with the red blood of those she had killed. Around her the bodies lay; men and women, people she had sworn to protect.

The dead, the dying and the crippled. God in heaven, what had she done?